I love our HOME shelf that we made from pallets and it all started with the question. What does it really mean when they say home is where the heart is? I don’t know about you but for me it’s all about the little things; a rose my daughter picked for me in the garden, my son’s cheeky smile, a candlelight dinner under the stars, our fur babies, a good book and laughter. Without the little things a house can never be a home.

Our pallet home shelf which we made last weekend is the perfect place to display some of those special things.

Our “Home” shelf

The shelf was inspired by the beautiful LOVE shelf that’s all over pinterest. I’m sure you seen it? Stunning hey? We drew up the plans and started cutting up some pallets.

What you need

Here’s how we made it. You’ll need pallet pieces that are at least 13 cm wide to fit all those little momentos. Cut one long 80 cm (31 1/2 inches) piece to form the backbone of the shelf and then cut and sand:

For the H

1 x 20 cm (8 inches)

1 x 15 cm (5 7/8 inches)

For the O

2 x 17 cm (6 3/4 inches)

1 x 16 cm (6 1/4 inches)

For the M

1 x 20 cm (8 inches)

2 x 11 cm cut at 45 degrees (4 3/8 inches)

For the E

2 x 17 cm (6 3/4 inches)

1 x 10 cm (3 7/8 inches)

All the bits have been cut

To put the shelf together start at the bottom with the E. Use a pneumatic staple gun and wood glue to attach one of the 17 cm pieces at 90 degrees to the bottom of the 80 cm piece, then measure up 9.5 cm and attach the 10 cm piece. Make a mark 20 cm from the bottom and staple the last 17 cm in place. For the O create a U shape using the two 17 cm pieces as the sides and the 16 cm piece as the bottom. Measure 20 cm from the top of the 80 cm backbone, dab some wood glue on the ends and use the staple gun to attach the O to the backbone.

Making the O and the E

Now the H and the M. The M scared us a little. I think it’s those 45 degree angles so we left it for last. The H was pretty straight forward. Attach the 15 cm piece to the middle of the 20 cm piece to form a top heavy T shape then attach the H to the backbone so that the top of the H is flush with the top of the backbone.

Glue and staple the two 11 cm pieces together to form a V shape. Attach the V shape to the backbone where the bottom of the O joins the backbone. Sit back and smile because that wasn’t as bad as we thought. In all honesty that was pretty darn easy 😀 Do a victory dance around the garden, consider having a beer to celebrate. Come back down to earth and attach the last 20 cm piece. Go get a beer and grab the fur babies so they can see how we conquered angles.

acraftymix

jammie Harper

Okay, so I just cut all these pieces and the shelf is awesome but its much smaller than it seems in the pictures. I may try it again and double all the measurements. I really like how it seems to take up a good piece of the wall in the pictures. Thanks for the idea. My first pallet project!

Mike Egloff

acraftymix

Hi Mike, the area we've hung the shelf is a odd little alcove (I think that's the right word, it's a small kind of cut out in an existing wall). The measurements are correct as far as I remember but if you find something odd please let me know. When I built the shelf I worked on 20 cm (just under 8 inches) per letter but I'm sure you can make it bigger or smaller depending on your space. Hope it helps, if not let me know and I'll measure again or try explain a bit better.

acraftymix

What an amazing blog you have Michelle. Why have I not been here before? Truly unique work with lots of repurposing going on here. I'm subscribing! Michelle, I along with Keri and some other friends are hosting a link party and we would be honored if you would link up your creations with us over at Sweet Inspiration.

chris aka monkey

acraftymix

Sandra K. Salisbury

YOU ARE SO CLEVER!! I hadn't seen the shelves on Pinterest so I had to check them out. Yours has them all beat, hands down!! I want one now! I just drug home a solid maple, Early American style end table from the 1960's. It will be a small patio table after a cleaning and a paint job. My husband see's my vision for that one, but, when I come dragging a pallet home I'm pretty sure he'll have to think really hard to get this one! I can't let that stop me, I really love your incredibly creative shelf! I'm looking forward to seeing your next project! Thanks for sharing!

Pat Canan

acraftymix

Hi Pat, thank you so much for stopping by. We were originally going to use bracket to hang it up, one under the H and one in the O, but it's hanging on two nails. If you zoom in on the first pic you can see what looks like a little black dot under the the roses on the H, that's the one nail and the other one is in the corner where the M and the O meet. I'm pretty sure you could also use those zig zaggy things you find on the back of frames.

acraftymix

Welcome

Hi, my name is Michelle or Mix to my friends. The hubby and I are so glad you popped in for a visit. We’re two IT geeks who freakin’ love making things in our spare time. And if we can re-cycle something at the same time, then we’re super happy. I hope our little blog inspires you to try do-it-yourself, so grab a cuppa and stay for a while.